About us

Oxford has had unparalleled strength in jurisprudence ever since H.L.A. Hart became our Professor of Jurisprudence in 1952. Six decades later, according to the Philosophical Gourmet Report 2014, 'Oxford University continues to be the world leader in legal philosophy, and by a wide margin: no school anywhere else in the English-speaking world has either Oxford's depth or breadth.' An updated version of the report, published in 2017, noted Oxford's 'continued preeminence' in the field. 

Jurisprudence in Oxford is an interdepartmental collaboration. The Law Faculty and the Philosophy Faculty, as well as the Department of Politics, contribute extensively to research and teaching in the subject, as do numerous Oxford colleges. The subject benefits from two dedicated University chairs, currently held by Ruth Chang and Leslie Green, a University Lecturership, currently held by Nicos Stavropoulos, and a Senior Research Fellow at All Souls College who teaches and researches within the programme, John GardnerTimothy Endicott, the Law Faculty's first Dean, is also the holder of a personal chair.

More than a dozen other permanent University posts in Jurisprudence are held across Oxford. They include posts held by Tom Adams, Nick BarberMindy Chen-Wishart, Julie Dickson, James Edwards, Richard Ekins, Pavlos Eleftheriadis, Kate Greasley, Aileen Kavanagh, Tarunabh Khaitan, Dori Kimel, Grant Lamond, Adam Perry, Sandy Steel, and Paul Yowell. Other scholars who contribute to the program from other disciplines or fields include Ralf Bader, Daniel Butt, Alice CraryRoger Crisp, Cècile Fabre, Edward Harcourt, Alison Hills, Guy KahaneDan McDermott, Jeff McMahan, Mari Mikkola, Linda Mulcahy, Alexander Prescott-Couch, Julian Savulescu, Thomas Sinclair, Sophie Smith, Amia Srinivasan, Zofia Stemplowska, Jonathan Wolff, and Lucia Zedner. We invite you to read more about the members of Jurisprudence in Oxford in our Faculty Features.

Our community of research students runs to 20 or more, and our courses are attended by hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students every year. And then there are numerous academic visitors from around the world who come to pursue their work and to collaborate in our uniquely conducive environment.

Read about some former faculty members

H.L.A. Hart (biography)
R.M. Dworkin (obituary in The Guardian)
J. Raz (personal home page)

 

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